Bittersweet Victory
by Alexandra3
Summary: Revan grit her teeth and limped toward the door, leaning heavily on her makeshift crutch. She didn’t have much time–the Star Forge was going to be space dust in a matter of minutes and she wouldn’t live much longer than that without help.


I missed the deadline to the KFM challenge by an hour. But here is the piece that I was going to submit, the prompt being "character death". Hope you enjoy it!

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Revan knew that she had a lot to atone for. As the Dark Lord of the Sith she had committed countless atrocities. She had destroyed more than just people–she decimated entire planets, leaving them as charred husks floating in space. She led an army that slaughtered all resistence. And for all this, the galaxy trembled before her.

Yet, she had no memory of this person. Revan may share her name and body, but she was different now. Now, she followed the ways of the Jedi, intent on routing evil and restoring peace to the galaxy. Regardless though, she knew that she would have to make amends for the horrors she had once brought upon the universe.

She could only hope that her recent actions would count towards her reparations to the galaxy. Revan, unable to rejoice in her victory, stared mournfully at the body at her feet. Malak. Darth Malak. Her enemy. Her former apprentice. Her friend. She remembered very little of her life before her mind was destroyed, but she knew that he had been her greatest friend before the Dark Side had twisted both of them. She wished she could have saved him, brought him back to the light, but that path was no longer open for him.

Revan turned slowly and eyed the carnage around her. So many dead Jedi lay strewn around the room, some of their bodies still smoking. As soon as she had understood Malak's intentions, she had run around and freed every one of those captive Jedi. No one deserved a death like that–not even Malak. Now there was nothing but scattered remains on the floor of the Star Forge. And if she didn't escape soon, they could add more to that tally.

Revan dragged a long piece of metal off the floor and used it as an impromptu walking stick. She was barely standing. . .barely alive for that matter. Her injuries were all taking their toll now that the stims and force abilities had worn off. Her left leg was nearly useless thanks to some heavy blaster fire from the damn droids. Blood was dripping into her eyes from numerous cuts on her face–she hadn't had time to shield herself properly from the exploding machinery when freeing the Jedi. She had several lightsaber wounds from the final battle. One that ran from her left shoulder to right hip along her back was shallow but painful. Yet it was the deeper slash to her midsection that had her worried. The blade cauterized the wound, preventing her from bleeding to death, but she knew that some of her internal organs had been damaged and wouldn't be able to function much longer.

Then there were the wounds that one couldn't see. Like the damage to her nervous system from the Force lightning. Or the deadened immune system from the drain life he had used on her. Or the mental agony she had gone through with every Force attack on her. Kept separate, the attacks were treatable and not particularly damaging. But grouped together with all of her injuries Revan was left with little hope for survival. She was dying and she knew it.

Revan grit her teeth and limped toward the door, leaning heavily on her makeshift crutch. She didn't have much time–the Star Forge was going to be space dust in a matter of minutes and she wouldn't live much longer than that without help. It would be easy for her to simply lay down and wait for the end, but she was simply too stubborn to let that happen. She was feet away from the turbolift door when the floor shook violently beneath her, sending her sprawling onto her back.

Revan cried out, tears threatening. She was just so tired. But she forced herself to roll over and drag her weary body over to the controls. Her crutch had been thrown somewhere and there wasn't time to go looking for it now. She sighed with relief as she reached up and slapped the button to open the doors. . .and then promptly groaned.

The galaxy was demanding that she begin her penance now. . .by putting the controls to the elevator at the _back_ of the shaft.

Revan felt like crying with frustration and exhaustion. She was not prone to bouts of sobbing, but now she thought that she could make an exception. Unable to walk, she methodically dragged herself over to the far wall by digging her fingers into the metal grating and pulling. She was the only one left; she had to get out of there herself.

Once at the controls, Revan thankfully raised herself up and slammed her hand on the buttons. The doors closed and the car moved swiftly downward. Revan groaned and leaned back against the wall, angling so that she didn't put any pressure on the wound on her back. She looked at the floor and grimaced; there was a very gruesome trail of blood along the metal floor, leading to where she lay. She snorted in amusement, too tired for a full blown laugh–she hoped there weren't any dark Jedi alive to follow her very obvious trail. She was rather certain that she didn't have even enough strength to rise again, let alone fight them. With a sigh, she closed her eyes. She wondered if maybe she should just give the galaxy what they would want: her death.

Carth and Bastila stood in front of the turbolift doors, waiting anxiously for Revan. They had tried to go after her, but all the doors leading to her location had been locked and inaccessible. So they had retreated to the place where she was most likely to emerge. . .if she emerged at all.

Carth tried to force himself to calm down, but it was a nearly impossible task. Bastila had returned to them, Canderous had the ship ready to go and now all they waited for was the one woman that had kept them all together. He refused to leave without her; he _couldn't_ leave without her.

They heard the gears shifting as the turbolift began to move. Bastila and Carth shared an nervous glance. They didn't know what to expect. But as the Star Forge shook violently around them, they knew that they had to get out of there as soon as possible. They would leave as soon as Revan came waltzing out of the doors, that normally charming grin on her face.

But when the doors did open, everything changed. She was slumped against the wall, still as death. A trail of blood led to her collapsed form. She was battered and bruised and looked like she had already given up her last breath.

Carth ran to her side, his very soul crying out to see her in such disarray. Despite her past, he loved this woman with all his heart and he couldn't bear to see her like this. . .it reminded him far too much of all he had lost.

"Revan?" he called, carefully gathering her into his arms. One trembling hand was reaching for a pulse when her eyes cracked open. Carth let out the breath he had been holding. "Hey there beautiful," he said, surprised that his voice didn't waver. "What took you so long?"

She smiled faintly. There was blood on her teeth. "Malak's dead," she whispered, her voice rasping.

Bastila, hurried over to the pair and knelt. She placed a hand on Revan's forehead and closed her eyes. After a moment though, she withdrew and rose. Unable to meet Carth's eyes, she said, "Then it is done. But hurry, we must leave unless we wish to join the Force as well." She turned and rushed back to the ship, giving the order to prepare for takeoff as she went. Everything would be meaningless if they didn't survive the final assault.

Carth looked down at the woman in his arms, more than aware of how close to death she was. "I think it's time we got out of here, what do you think?"

Revan chuckled but it quickly transformed into a cough. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against Carth's shoulder, her strength gone. "Let's go. . .flyboy."

Carth would have grinned if her voice wasn't so weak. He carefully lifted her up, wincing when she tensed and gave a soft cry. There was nothing he could do about her injuries, they had to leave. Moving as fast as he was able, he ran to the waiting _Ebon Hawk_, never more grateful to see their banged up ship.

"Get us out of here Canderous!" Carth yelled the second he was aboard and the ramp closed behind him. The engines roared beneath them and he made his way to the med bay where Jolee was waiting for them.

Jolee muttered several choice words when he saw the bloody woman. Carth blinked, but kept his opinion of the Jedi's vocabulary to himself. He set Revan down on the bed, trying to be as gentle as possible. Her head lolled to the side and his heart seized within him. "Revan! Revan, wake up!"

She opened her eyes slowly to look at him in confusion while Jolee began to try and heal her. "What's. . .wrong?"

Carth shook his head; she had lost so much blood, it was preventing her from being lucid. "Nothing, beautiful. I just need you to stay with me okay? Don't go join the Force just yet."

Revan blinked, slowly. Her eyes lost focus briefly and then she gave the briefest of nods. The ship lurched under their feet and Carth swore viciously, his eyes going towards the door.

"Go fly the damn ship boy," Jolee said, meeting his eyes. "I'll watch over her. You just make sure we survive long enough to enjoy some peace and quiet!"

Carth hesitated only briefly. He looked down at Revan, her eyes closed once again, her breathing shallow. When the ship lurched again, he knew what he had to do. Placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, he then turned and sprinted out of the med bay. He was thrown against the wall leading to the cockpit twice before he managed to make it up there. "What the hell are you doing to my ship!" he yelled at Canderous.

"If you think you can do better Republic, then by all means," the Mandalorian snarled back. Carth stalked over, sparing only the briefest of glances for Bastila in the co-pilot's chair. Her hands were flying over the console, trying to get them clear. He took the controls from Canderous and instantly felt the strain that the ship was under. The shields were failing thanks to the hits from enemy fighters and he was doubtful as to whether they could get out of the way of the blast radius in time. The Star Forge was going to explode in a spectacular display and he was just going to pray that they weren't a part of it.

"Everybody better strap in, this is going to be rough," he advised, gritting his teeth.

The flash was the first clue that the explosion had gone off.

The blast wave that rocked the ship was the second.

The ship bucked and rattled and Carth fought to keep it as steady as he could. He could mildly hear the other members either praying or swearing as they were jostled about. He strained to keep them from spiraling out of control. The sensors were offline, the shields were gone and the ship was shuddering as if it were going to fall apart. His knuckles turned white on the controls, but he managed to eventually level the ship out. Once the shockwaves had dissipated and the light had faded, they found themselves sailing along, with nothing but a few Republic ships for company.

He wasn't known as one of the best pilots in the fleet for nothing.

Carth actually grinned, amazed that they had made it out alive. Admiral Dodonna's welcome voice filtered over the comm unit to fill the cabin. "Carth! You're alive!"

The Republic soldier chuckled. "We couldn't let you start the party without us!" He was basking in the rush that came from defeating the odds. He opened his mouth to say something else, but Jolee's voice came over the comm and destroyed his previous thoughts.

"Carth, I think you had better get back here."

That was all the old Jedi said before he cut out. And Carth's heart plummeted. He looked at Bastila, but she waved at him. "Go, I can make sure we dock properly." He nodded and quickly headed out of the cockpit, pushing past the other members of the crew. Jolee was waiting for him outside of the med bay.

"What's going on, why have you stopped healing her?"

Jolee sighed. "There's nothing I can do."

Carth froze, his eyes wide. He had to remind himself to breathe. "Wh–what? What are you talking about? Of course there's something you can do, put her in a trance or something, we can get her to a kolto tank. Don't just stand there!"

He started to push past the old Jedi, but Jolee restrained him and pushed him back. "Listen to me sonny. Her injuries are far too extensive. The Force can't help her anymore and kolto would have no effect. I've given her a sedative, but that's all I can do. I'm sorry Carth, but if you have anything to say to her, now is the time."

The pilot stared at him for a moment before he slowly entered the med bay. He didn't want to believe it, didn't want to believe that their future together was over before it had even started. But one look at the woman on the bed and he knew Jolee was right. The blood had been cleaned from her skin, but it only made her sickly pallor more apparent.

Sensing his presence, Revan turned her head. A faint smile crossed her lips. "Hey flyboy," she wheezed, her breath rattling through her lungs.

Carth swallowed his despair and forced a grin. "Hey gorgeous. How are you feeling?" He carefully sat on the edge of the bed and clasped one of her hands within his own.

Revan shook her head. "I don't think I'm going to be up to saving the galaxy again anytime soon."

He chuckled. "Whatever will we do?"

She started to laugh, but it quickly dissolved into a coughing fit that wracked her frame. He watched anxiously, but she waved him away once she had regained her breath. "I'm sorry Carth."

He frowned. "For what?"

"For dying." Carth opened his mouth, but she cut him off. "I know I am, it's not that hard to sense. That last battle was too much for me. Jolee's right, there isn't anything that can be done."

"Don't say that," Carth said vehemently. "We're going to dock with the Admiral's ship and then we'll get you all patched up."

Revan sighed. "I'm sorry Carth, but that's not going to work this time. This is the end for me."

"Damnit woman, stop saying that! I'm not giving up on you!"

"You have to." The words were quiet, but it quelled his temper. She brought up her free hand and laid it against his cheek where he captured it with his own hand. "Listen to me. I would have died a long time ago if it wasn't for you. I love you Carth, more than I thought I could ever love anybody. I want you to remember that."

Carth ruthlessly suppressed the tears that threatened. "Revan, please, don't do this. Fight it, I know you can."

"Carth." She coughed again and her eyes briefly went out of focus. "Take care of the others and keep the Republic strong. And don't be too hard on Dustil, we all need second chances. I love you flyboy."

"No, Revan, don't." The tears were streaming down his face now. "Please beautiful, I love you, don't die on me." He leaned down and kissed her desperately, wishing there was a way to will his life into her. Her hand tightened on his own before falling limp, her last breath whispering across his lips.

He couldn't help it. A wail broke forth from his lips as he clutched her body to him. Sobbing uncontrollably, he buried his face in her hair, unaware of anything else. Revan was dead. The Star Forge and Malak be damned, nothing else mattered to him but the woman lying lifeless in his arms.

The Republic may have won. But he most certainly had lost.


End file.
